Rihanna is being called out for "super offensive" photo on Instagram

Singer Rihanna uploaded a topless photo of herself on Instagram this week to promote her Savage x Fenty lingerie line and it garnered up to 9.9 million likes, unsurprisingly. Unfortunately, not everyone approved of the photo, especially those in the Hindu community who called out the Pose singer for cultural and religious appropriation. Rihanna appeared to be wearing a pendant necklace that features the Hindu god Ganesha in the photo, according to a report by Buzzfeed on February 19. Based on Britannica, Ganesha is an elephant-headed Hindu god' known as the 'remover of obstacles.' "Why is Rihanna's company doing a lingerie photoshoot outside a Hindu temple and she's wearing a Ganesh pendant as [an] accessory?" a netizen tweeted after the photo went viral. https://twitter.com/shrabonbon/status/1361890458557890560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361890458557890560%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu   Another netizen then asked, "How hard is it to respect and not appropriate Hinduism for your own personal gain?", posting a photo of what appears to be a Savage X Fenty model posing in front of a Hindu temple. https://twitter.com/not_talkingrap/status/1361491659352080386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361491659352080386%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu   One netizen shared that it is now 2021 and by now we should all understand that religion is not an aesthetic.

"I don't know who needed to hear this but no it's not okay for Rihanna to use the Hindu religion as an aesthetic even if it's Rihanna," another added.

https://twitter.com/yashveen_xyz/status/1361659974624149508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361659974624149508%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu This person called the topless photo "super offensive": https://twitter.com/KamalSinghnamo/status/1361609643756113926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361609643756113926%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu  

Others said the 32-year-old performer was being "extremely disrespectful to the religion" and should not be defended:

https://twitter.com/xbrisabritx/status/1361707845293645824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361707845293645824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu

"You can love Rihanna and still call her out btw," this fan wrote.

https://twitter.com/DaRealDilshan/status/1361431077420740608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361431077420740608%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu

Another fan tweeted, "Rihanna’s appropriation of the Hindu God Ganesha is something I never thought I’d see."

https://twitter.com/rhea_silver/status/1361609120231665664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361609120231665664%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu

"Do better, that’s all we ask," another commented.

https://twitter.com/niharika_215/status/1361901964498522112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361901964498522112%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fterrycarter%2Frihanna-topless-photo-instagram-backlash-hindu

It is not the first time that the singer had been called out for offending a religious community. Last year, the singer apologised to the Muslim community for using a song that sampled religious Islamic scripture in her Savage X Fenty October 2020 show.

Rihanna has not commented on the recent backlash yet.